Fighting Among US Girls Higher than Expected
January 17th, 2010
Though it is generally understood that adolescent girls sometimes participate in fighting and other potentially dangerous behaviors, common perceptions tend to suggest that rates of female aggression are relatively low. Not so, says a recent government report based on a survey of over thirty thousand adolescent girls. The results show that slightly over one in four girls had been involved in a physical altercation, serious fight, or group attack in the past year. Commentators have noted that greater attention to the mental health and behavioral needs of young women may be necessary to help address this often overlooked issue.
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Whoa… most of us would associate physical aggression to guys and not girls. It is very surprising to know that 25% of those surveyed have been involved in such a thing. I never thought such a large percentage of girls would be involved in physical aggression.
I work in an atmosphere where giirls fighting is way more common that it is with the boys. Girls of a certain age have so much aggression and animosity toward one another and it always equals a fight, and boy can they get nasty. I hate having to break up these fights more than even fighting among boys, because these girls will fight until the bitter end. I have to wonder what kind of home life they must have to deal with to express rage in this way.
Makes me realize we need to do a much better job with teaching young girs how to handle their emotions
Girls as well as boys are becoming more argumentative and quick to challenge others. When I was a kid, you never saw girls fighting. Now you see them anger and swing a punch just as quick as any male did when I was growing up. Something in the water maybe?
“Rates of violent behaviour were higher for who engaged in binge drinking or used marijuana.”
It’s not something in the water. It’s that they need more water with their alcohol!
When people are high on drugs or alcohol, their inhibitions can be suppressed. Reckless words and actions happen. Women can’t hold their drink like men can.
That’s so unladylike! My father would have had a fit if I’d ever become embroiled in a fistfight and he wouldn’t have cared if I was the victim. He detests a woman even raising her voice.
This is the saddest part. “The new survey was done between 2006 and 2008 and the results are similar to those in a SAMHSA study from 2002-2004.”
There’s no detectable improvement since the first survey. Could we not have learned from those 2002-2004 results that this was a problem that needed addressing?
I think the movies that show aggressive behavior is being cool are to blame for this new trend… there are fights on almost all campuses happening nowadays and the situation is very upsetting to say the least…
It is an adverse effect of gender lines blurring…while there has always been feminity inside every man and masculinity inside every woman, it has never been exhibited or felt as much as it is being done these days… this is a phase that will pass and we will begin to accept such things…
I guess I’m kinda shocked that nayone seems surprised that this is going on amongst adolescent girls. Does not make me happy, but we have all seen Mean Girls and know just how snarky that whole culture can be. If we are going to be entertained by movies portraying this kind of behavior then we can’t turn a blind eye when we see it loud and clear happening in real life. What we have to do is send the message that that kind of behavior will not be tolerated and put an end to it then and there and parents have to be willing to watch what their daughters are doing and step in when they see a problem.
Well what is happening is that all of us are experiencing more stress and more pressure than our parents ever did in our age and this is definitely stimulating us to be more aggressive and even exhibit it, going to the length of a physical confrontation, even among girls…
“There’s no detectable improvement since the first survey. Could we not have learned from those 2002-2004 results that this was a problem that needed addressing?”
We could have Rosalee. We could have, but didn’t. And did you see the age of those girls surveyed? 12-17 years old! Where are their parents while they are out beating up some other poor kid?
I feel sorry for the victims and sorry for the girls that are the attackers too. What kind of childhood have they had to have that violent streak in them? A child isn’t born a fighter. I hope both sides get all the therapy and help they need.
I hate to see anybody fighting, girls especially.I realized after I saw two girls squaring up to each other why they call it a cat fight. They are vicious — scratching, biting, ripping hair. It’s a horrible thing to see.
Girls in that age group are the offspring of the “I want my child to be a free spirit” generation. They had no rules, no boundaries, and no sense themselves. How can you expect them to teach their own kids when they have nothing to base those teachings on?
It is very unfortunate that we are going back to where we came from…brutality and physical encounters… we must mature and develop into sophesticated people, not fight!
You got that right Pearl! I’ll give it two more generations like that before there’s total anarchy. Look forward to when everybody does what the heck they like because sadly that day’s coming.
The best lessons about how to live life and resolve conflicts are taught in the home, and this is where I see a major downfall. Everyone is so out to get everything for themselves that this is what we are teaching girls and boys today and that you have to fight to take a stand. That is not how everything needs to be resolved. You have to stand up for yourself but not by hurting others and that is the crucial element that is being lost. People think it’s ok to trample on others to make it to the top, so we are leaving the element of compassion out of the life lessons that we are giving to our children. You have to set the example for what you want your kids to be, and if they see you behaving in this manner and solving your problems this way they are sure to follow suit.
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